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Published on

10 Apr 2009

Abstract

The confluence of oil price spikes, heightened concerns about the
environment and now the likelihood of new government driven economic
stimuli has increased the discussion about renewable energy policy and
investments around the globe. Increased global electricity demand
continues to be driven by more electronics, the rise of emerging
economies and soon, the electrification of transportation thereby
putting even more emphasis on abundant and clean methods of generation.
So called “solar panels” have been long proposed as a significant
component of such a solution, dating back to the discovery of the
photovoltaic (PV) effect in 1839, to the first silicon solar cell in
1954 and the first oil price spikes in the 1970s. But even with all the
compelling factors, PV currently generates less than 0.1% of the world’s
electricity. After a review of the overall renewable energy landscape,
including the central role of economics, we present here the case that
PV is on the verge of becoming a major source of electrical power
through a principle similar to that which underlies the 50 year progress
of IC technology – the reduction of unit cost through nanomanufacturing.

Purdue News Service.

Bio

Dr. Mark R. Pinto is a Sennior Vice President at Applied Materials, serving both as General Manager of the Enrgy and Environmental Solutions business and as the corporate Chief Technology Officer. As part of his role in developing new businesses for Applied Materials, Dr. Pinto lead the formation of Energy and Environmental Solutions to extend the company’s nanomanufacturing technologies into new markets, including its rapidly growing solar business.
Dr. Pinto received bachelors degrees from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and a masters degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He is a former Bell Labs Fellow, a Fellow of the IEEE, and the recipient of the 2008 J. J. Ebers Award from the IEEE Electron Devices Society for his contributions to semiconductor technology.

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